Flag flown for harmonious connection

MEMBERS of varying faiths and beliefs gathered at St Peter’s Anglican Church on Wednesday morning for a flag-raising ceremony to mark World Interfaith Harmony Week.

The event was organised by members of the Ballarat Interfaith Network, with attendees including people of Sikh, Hindu, Muslim and Christian backgrounds.

“The idea when this started was to engender respect and peaceable communications between the three Abrahamic faiths and it’s since broadened to all faiths and no particular faith at all,” said Network chair Margaret Lenan Ellis.

“Repeating this kind of celebration is important, for people of different faiths to come together to learn about each other and our differences is the key message.”

The ceremony marked the group’s first event celebrating their 20th anniversary year, which is set to be acknowledged throughout 2023.

Obaid Noor was keynote speaker, and said the message of Harmony Week is important to maintain.

“If I get to interact with people of different cultures or varying faiths, I try to show the same respect,” he said.

“The impact is great. I personally believe faith can do miracles for us and it helps us to navigate turbulent times in a spiritual matter no matter whatever one believes in.”

Songs performed by from the Ballarat Steiner School and Kindergarten marked the return of an in-person children’s choir to the event after a three-year absence.

Members of the Ballarat Interfaith Network have been celebrating World Interfaith Harmony Week since its inception in 2011 by King Abdullah II of Jordan at the United Nations.